Aftermath - Episode II
by xPhoenixDreams
Summary: Orichalcum and the Diamond Empire might have fallen, but our heroes realize they forgot something - Yellow Diamond and Aventurine. Follow the Gems as they make new friends, become never-before-seen fusions, and save Earth once more.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: A New Beginning

The light from outside hit Steven's eyes, waking him up.

Altaite was stretched out on the table below, shielded from the light.

Malachite, who was attempting to get some tea last night, fell asleep on the spot, tea on the counter.

Onyx and Tiger's Eye were on the roof, sleeping after stargazing.

Tourmaline and Turquoise, who were playing in the ocean last night, awoke with seaweed in their hair.

Steven's alarm blared through the house, waking everyone inside with a start.

Malachite's cheeks were sticky with tea and Altaite had a book above his face from last night.

Turquoise stormed in, a crab clinging to her braid.

"Malachite, can you get this thing off? It's creepy and kind of gross."

"Uh, sure?"

He reluctantly removed the blue crab, getting pinched in the process.

Onyx walked in with Tiger's Eye, and it seemed they were the only ones with a normal morning.

That is, if they hadn't noticed something crashing into the ocean the night prior.

But they had, and now the Gems had to investigate.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Out of this World

With Lapis's help, the Gems made their way to the spot in the ocean where the meteor had crashed.

Andesine came along too, as she had something up her sleeve.

Once they found the crater, it was still smoking, despite it being under the ocean.

Andesine had created a "heat bubble" so that the water wouldn't disrupt their investigation.

After creating the bubble, she summoned her weapon, a hammer, and smashed the meteorite open.

Inside was a white gemstone.

It had gray veins running through it.

Altaite somewhat recognized who this belonged to, but he couldn't remember her name.

Tourmaline nudged him. "Is that Howlite?"

Yes, that was it.

Her name was Howlite, a warrior.

She'd fought in the war, but not on the rebel side.

Howlites were mass-produced, like Pearls, and fought for White Diamond.

Wait, the Gems took out White Diamond first…

So, in a day or two, would Black Diamond's warriors come?

Probably not, seeing as this was the only Howlite that came.

The Gem regenerated quickly, armor and all.

She saw Altaite, summoning her pike.

"You!"

Altaite snarled. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Taking back my leader."

She mumbled something under her breath.

"…And Yellow Diamond banished me…"

She looked up at him.

"But that's not the point. I have come to avenge her, and if I can't, I'll… I'll…"

"Do what? You're still as stubborn, geez…"

Her face turned red. " _Ugh._ "

She threw her pike at him, summoning more and doing the same.

Malachite tried to step in, but Altaite said he'd handle it.

He summoned a small cannon, shooting at her.

Dodging a cannonball, Howlite threw a pike into the cannon, hijacking it.

The cannon exploded.

And Altaite didn't have time to run.

After the smoke settled, Altaite was in his gem, which Tourmaline caught before it fell.

She decided to bubble it and pop it at the Temple, seeing as he'd usually take a while before regenerating.

Tourmaline glared at Howlite, summoning her scythe and cutting a pike she'd thrown in half.

Moving quickly, she made her way to Howlite, dodging and cutting pikes.

Howlite yelped, backing into the edge of Andesine's heat bubble.

Speaking of Andesine, she had jumped to the ceiling of the heat bubble and was now falling down, whacking Howlite with her hammer.

She caught Howlite's gem in a bubble.

And now to interrogate her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Interrogation

Once they arrived at the Temple, Tourmaline popped Altaite's bubble, standing guard over his gem.

Andesine brought in Howlite's gem, hoping she would regenerate fast.

After a few minutes, Howlite regenerated on a chair, snarling when she noticed she was surrounded by the Gems, weapons drawn.

She summoned her pike.

Andesine took it from her hand and started heating it up herself.

She put the red tip above Howlite's arm.

"Tell me. Why are you really here?"

She retorted. "None of your business."

Andesine lowered the tip, making Howlite yelp.

"Fine! I'm here because that stupid Yellow Diamond banished all the Howlites, said we were of no use to her."

"And? That can't be the only reason."

Howlite looked to the side.

"Are you refusing?" She lowered the pike a bit, making Howlite talk.

"Some Gem framed me! I don't know who, her name was Iol-something!"

The Gems didn't pay much attention to that last part; just the fact that Yellow Diamond was active and banished all Howlites.

Malachite glared at Howlite, asking Andesine for the pike.

"Listen. You're gonna give us answers now, and you're not gonna refuse."

She started talking fast.

"Idon'tknowwhatexactlyhappenedIjustwanttogohomeI'msorryforeverythingpleaseletmegonowpleeeease!"

Malachite looked at her, trying to decipher the jumbled mess of words she threw at him.

"You can go home after you answer this."

Her eyes lit up.

"Where is Yellow Diamond?"

She answered him calmly.

"Right now, she's trying to raise the Tower of Impurity by herself to get you guys distracted while she gets ready for something."

The Tower of Impurity was a horrid place.

Any Gems that step foot there without the proper gear would go corrupt, even if one part of the armor, such as the helmet, was missing.

The Gems shivered when she said that.

"You've proven yourself useful. I'll escort you to the Galaxy Warp."

Malachite went over to the Warp Pad, disappearing with Howlite.

Well, at least the Gems know that the Tower of Impurity might rise soon.

They couldn't help but laugh, though.

Raising the Tower of Impurity takes a day of unrest.

And then waiting for it to actually _rise_ takes a while.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Iol-Something

After Malachite dismissed Howlite into the Wasteland of Homeworld where Yellow Diamond wouldn't find her, he took a walk outside, trying to relax for the first time in millennia.

Turquoise decided to sleep outside by the sea again, and luckily, there was no crab clinging to her braid.

Altaite still hasn't come back yet. No one knows why he's taking so long; It's been a couple of days now.

Tourmaline, Tiger's Eye, and Onyx decided to go out to Funland with Greg and Steven.

There, they found peace and quiet.

Because no one was there.

Turns out, yet another Howlite arrived.

However, it wasn't normal.

The white parts of the meteorite were a light lavender color.

When the Gems came close to it, the gray veins disappeared.

Instead, a strange figure emerged from it, the meteorite fading away slowly.

So it was an _illusion._

 _It wasn't real._

The figure flew up at the speed of light the moment it could be seen.

The Gems (and human) saw something purple on its back, the sunlight reflecting from it.

So it was a Gem, could conjure illusions, and it was one of the few purple ones.

It couldn't have been an Amethyst or a Tourmaline; those had died out over the ages, the only exceptions being the bubbled ones and the two Crystal Gems.

Even so, there was still one possible purple Gem.

 **Iolite.**

The Iolite were far superior than Amethysts, Tourmalines, Charoite, and any other Gem that fell in the purple category, which were known for being mysterious and the like.

So, if it was an Iolite, it was one of the last and oldest.

And it blasted away, probably to Homeworld, _before their very eyes._

Would it return?

Probably not.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Nighttime Menace

Late at night, Steven awoke to the sound of rustling.

Malachite slept on the couch downstairs, completely oblivious to the scraping sound.

Steven got a flashlight and looked over the edge at Malachite, then over at the door, where a weird thing looked back at him, glowing red eyes and all.

Its claws shone in the moonlight.

Steven yelped, waking Malachite, who was slightly groggy.

He got up, sword in-hand.

"What is it?"

Steven pointed at the creature, which was now scratching the doorframe instead of the windows.

Azurite walked out of his room, setting down a glass of milk which he had literally swallowed as he entered the kitchen.

Malachite looked at him, obviously confused as to why Steven and Malachite were awake s late.

Azurite looked at the thing.

"Steven, stay back. We'll handle this."

Malachite and Azurite leaped out the window, the creature targeting them.

Malachite turned his back on Azurite, spinning on one foot before turning and jumping.

Azurite walked toward him, both arms behind his head.

Malachite did some backflips until he was near Azurite, who was now behind him.

Azurite jumped onto Malachite's shoulders, their bodies glowing blue.

The creature was now attempting to run at them, its stubby arms flailing in the wind.

Kyanite rose, two double-bladed swords in two hands while the two above were on his waist.

The creature was now standing on its hind legs, more than half as tall as Kyanite.

Kyanite tried to slash at the creature but it deflected the attacks with its claws.

Finally landing a hit, the sword cut off an arm, which kind of poofed away.

Wait...

Was this a _Serendibite_?!

Serendibite were Black Diamond's knights. They could shapeshift like any regular Gem, but with a drawback; they kept that shape for a while.

If one of their limbs was cut off, it would "poof away," leaving the Serendibite without that limb until it regenerated.

Serendibite weren't even the toughest Diamond warriors out there.

Unless Iolite had framed the Serendibite too, there was no logical reason for it to be here.

Kyanite thought about all this.

Serendibite clawed at the sword, cutting off one of the blades.

The sword reverted to the form of Malachite's.

Kyanite swiveled around just in time to block another hit from Serendibite.

He had hit it where its Gem was, on the shoulder, just like Black Diamond's.

Kyanite bubbled it, unfusing just as Steven went outside.

Steven circled around them happily.

"That was so cool! Why don't you two fuse that much?"

The two Gems exchanged looks.

"That's a story for another time."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: The Old and the New

During his regeneration process, Altaite had seen many things flash before him.

A structure collapsing, trapping someone;

Homeworld, the castles and forts crowded with warriors;

Aventurine, who was constructing something;

Yellow Diamond, who had crushed Howlite's gem with her foot.

And then, the purple figure that Tourmaline had seen, its face launching at him with no eyes and blood streaming down its face.

Altaite jumped up from his gem, fully healed.

Tourmaline was beside him.

"What's wrong? You screamed before you jumped up." She looked at his new outfit;

He had gray boots and kept his hood, which connected to a vest. Under the vest, he had a black t-shirt and a necklace with a piece of tourmaline, kept in place by a wire which ran around it. His hair was white and ruffled.

She looked closely.

She pointed at his necklace. "What is that?"

Altaite looked away. "It just felt right."

Tourmaline giggled.

"Okay, now, what was happening? You seemed scared when you came out of your gem."

Altaite explained most of what happened except for Howlite's gem being crushed and someone sacrificing themselves for another Gem.

She shuddered.

"The figure... did it look like an Iolite?"

Altaite nodded, fear in his eyes.

"...It can't be the same one terrorizing people at Funland, can it.."?

"There was an Iolite at Funland?!"

Tourmaline looked over at him.

"Yes. It took the form of the meteorite Howlite arrived in, but then when we got closer to it, the meteorite faded away and it blasted into the sky."

Malachite, Azurite, and Steven walked in.

Steven was still talking to the two about their fusion from a couple of minutes ago.

Altaite looked up.

"What happened?"

Azurite rubbed his arm, looking away.

Malachite whispered to him.

"Do you want to tell him?"

Azurite shook his head briefly.

Malachite took a deep breath.

"Serendibite was outside."

The couple seemed shocked.

"A Serendibite? But Howlite was here because she was banished. How could the Serendibite be here?"

Malachite shrugged.

"But get this. Azurite and I fused."

Altaite and Tourmaline freaked out.

Malachite and Azurite had been Kyanite for their whole lives until they met Turquoise.

One part wanted to be with her, the other wanted to be independent.

After sustaining weeks of battle damage, Kyanite retreated into a single gem.

This gem was split into two because of self-conflict;

Thus, Malachite and Azurite were created.

Once they regenerated, Malachite set out to look for Turquoise.

Azurite had stayed behind.

And now, when the two fuse, they become Kyanite, or at least a version of him.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Stranger Danger

It was a while after Kyanite was fused and Altaite returned.

A week, actually.

Nothing interesting happened in all that time; must be vacation. But no.

Tiger's Eye, Turquoise, and Malachite had gone off on a mission. The other three stayed behind so they could watch over Steven with the others and protect the Temple if needed.

Altaite fiddled around with a guitar, teaching himself while Tourmaline was out with Steven teaching him how to fuse with them if he needed; but, of course, such an occasion would be rare, as he'd most likely fuse with the original Gems anyways.

Onyx was trying to perfect a new technique he'd wanted to try out while battling Black Diamond; using the darkness to his advantage alongside the ability to shrink a couple of feet thanks to his cloak, he could be unseen and harder to hit.

Meanwhile...

–

Malachite told the two to stay back while he talked to the pale Gem.

"Hi. I'm Malachite, and you are?"

She had her weapon out, but resisted fighting.

"Selenite."

He smiled at her. "Pleasure to meet you. And, look, we aren't here to hurt this place, or you. In fact, we didn't know you were here. Tell me, have you seen a green lady with triangular hair and a gem on her forehead, missing a foot?"

She replied, confused. "Peridot?"

"Yes! Her. Has she been here recently?"

"No, not that I know of. Why?

Malachite seemed like he was holding back some details. "Just wondering; She _was_ doing some horrible things here, after all."

Selenite led the three Gems down into Facet Five, where Steven had first interacted with Peridot.

Malachite examined the small pillars on the ground and looked up, mortified. "They're gone. They're all gone!"

Turquoise checked the ceiling. All of them were either snapped in half, burnt, or cut perfectly.

Two of them were surprisingly similar to the Cluster's.

One had a ton of hand marks and the other, which was hollowed out, had a trail of soil that lead on for a bit.

Selenite shrugged. "I don't see what's wrong here."

Malachite explained some things, holding back certain parts.

Selenite was shocked. "So you three are part of a group which hopes to defend this planet and Yellow Diamond is still out there with Peridot and Aventurine? Hm, never knew Aventurine was real, just a legend amongst the Gems from this Kindergarten."

After a couple more hours of investigation, Selenite brought up a huge question, dismissing the bow she'd held.

She'd asked to join the Crystal Gems.

Malachite seemed surprised.

"It's okay with me! Might have to bring it up to Rose Quartz, though..."

Selenite jumped back.

"Rose Quartz? _THE_ Rose Quartz?! She's my hero! That's crazy! I can't believe I might meet her!"

Malachite rubbed his neck. "Yeah, that's her. C'mon, guys, let's go home."

They warped away.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Visions

Selenite awoke with a start.

She was sleeping on the couch when Iolite appeared in a dream.

Iolite smiled, revealing sharp teeth. "Ha... Seems like I've found my next victim..."

Selenite was panting, Andesine now at her side, concerned. "Something the matter?"

Selenite caught her breath. "No, I'm... I'm fine. I just... had a nightmare."

Lapis walked out of her room, tired. "I can't sleep. I feel like something's going to happen soon."

Selenite gasped. "No... No no no no no..." She sat up, still somewhat woozy.

…

Later on in the day, Azurite went out to the porch and sipped a bit of juice.

Steven came out with Rose, discussing what life was like for her.

"Well... There were some things that were hard to agree on, such as how we should divide the groups... Sometimes we'd receive distress calls from other rebels around the planet..."

Turquoise sat by the shore, freezing bits of water studying the unique patterns that the dissolved salt made in the ice.

Selenite was out as well, staring up at the clouds when she had another vision; this time, Iolite wasn't there, but it was much worse.

The land was charred, swords left behind, Gem shards were everywhere.

And part of the charred land formed a strange pattern.

What was in the middle of the pattern was horrifying;

The Cluster, whose bubble had been stolen and popped;

Yellow Diamond, who was grinning at something in front of her;

And, in front of Yellow Diamond?

The Tower of Impurity, Gem troops flooding it from a ship at the top.

None of it didn't scream the word "chaos."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Lament

The fusion walked over to the Warp Pad quietly.

They'd had enough.

They were sick of knowing how she had gone and that she'd never return.

Unless they did something about it.

…

It was hard to navigate through the ruins, especially since the rooms were twisted. And it was even worse because none of the rooms followed the laws of physics.

Pieces of stone floated around;

Some of the rooms had fake walls you could walk through, all of which had nothing behind them.

Worst of all, the walls were covered in purple ooze and the same color vines.

The Gem sat, two of his arms in front of his forehead and the other two in front of his chest, summoning a bubble.

Something- no, some _one_ darted from one side of the room to another, her gem reflecting the small amount of light.

The light reflected as purple.

Iolite was here.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Revived

Coesite started into the bubbled gem in front of him, then back at the dark figure hiding in the shadows.

If he could revive her...

If she could help them...

He popped the bubble and moved a small stream of water in a dance-like movement before finally letting it settle on the gem.

After it glowed for a bit, the Gem regenerated, and Orthoclase was in its place, small blue sparks dancing on her skin before fizzling away.

Coesite unfused.

Turquoise pointed at the corner, where Iolite was.

Iolite laughed.

"Catch me if you can."

She kicked at the wall, watching it fall below before jumping out, projecting purple glass-like platforms as she jumped from one to the other without using both feet.

Malachite growled, jumping out, skipping every other platform.

He grabbed one of Iolite's sashes, pulling on it.

She yelped, swiveling around and slapping Malachite in the face before bouncing away.

…

After a small "welcome back" party, Andesine went outside to stargaze.

She must have been really immersed if she hadn't noticed Azurite closing the door.

"Hey," he said softly, startling her.

"Oh! Uh, hey, Azurite."

After a brief moment of silence, Andesine went out on the beach.

She tripped on a slippery and mossy rock, falling back. Her instinct was to try to form a small bubble she could fall on, but she didn't.

Instead, Azurite appeared behind her. "Gotcha," he said, trying to avoid eye contact and blushing a light shade of blue.

Andesine got up from his arms. "Thanks."

She slipped again, oblivious to the fact that the rock was still there.

She unintentionally knocked him down and their lips met.

Andesine got up from the accidental kiss, blushing before running away.

Azurite stood, watching her go.


	11. Special Event I: The Pure One

Special Event: The Pure One

A Gem's voice rang throughout the house, the Wailing Stone knocking against some things.

The voice was... familiar, yet they couldn't put their fingers on it.

As they would soon discover, it was coming from another... dimension.

It was Charoite who was sending this message.

It needed immediate attention.

…

After jumping through a strange portal that appeared above the Warp Pad, the Gems found themselves in an exact replica of Beach City, except for the fact that this place's Steven was a young girl named Michelle.

She had a light pink gem on her cheek.

Her mother was the Rose of this place, Morganite.

Outside, three Gems, Charoite, Larimar, and Fluorite, were struggling to take down a hand ship.

More specifically, Peridot's.

Charoite and Larimar had fused into Celestite in an attempt to disintegrate the looming ship but to no avail.

Once the ship landed, Jasper was there, holding Lapis above the ground.

After Peridot tried to launch a wide beam of light, Michelle jumped in front of her Gems, creating a translucent bubble.

And after the whole incident happened where Jasper readied her Destabilizer, it was Fluorite who got, well, "destabilized."

She split into two Gems, one green with dots of red, and a blue one with white streaks.

After light enveloped the beach, Stishovite stood in the place of Malachite.

Jasper gagged. "This is sick! How could one bear to fuse out of their own free will?! How can you stand to be a fusion?!"

Stishovite smiled.

He summoned his staff, breaking off the visor to Jasper's helmet, sending an electrical charge to the head.

Jasper started a spin dash, rolling into Stishovite's gut.

He grabbed her by the helmet. "Watch where you're going!" As he finished the sentence, he threw Jasper into the Temple wall.

The two Gems had finished regenerating, Bloodstone and Amazonite, and immediately fused back into Fluorite. Michelle stared at them.

"You're a fusion? And you kept that a secret from me?"

Fluorite winced. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to meet us in a situation like this. I was waiting for Christmas."

Stishovite grabbed Peridot by the leg as she was running, raising her to his eyes, which was probably about thirty seven feet off the ground.

"Thought you could get away? Well, we know what you're like in our dimension." He put her in his hand and, with the index finger of his other hand, he squished her, like a kid would squish a gummy bear before eating it.

He gave the gem to Fluorite before unfusing.

Jasper limped toward the warpship.

"I'm reporting this to the Diamonds!"

She retreated, leaving Peridot.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Through Her Eyes

She looked up, her eyes ringed.

She didn't need sleep, but she was accustomed to it, and so her gem stopped generating energy for her to run on.

Yellow Diamond observed the small slab of marble that rose no more than a few feet off the ground.

If it took a day for it to rise a yard, it would take about a month and a half for it to be done.

She scoffed. "I don't have time for this."

She turned, facing Aventurine, who was busy working on a blueprint she'd pulled up on her "finger monitor."

Yellow Diamond cleared her throat and Aventurine looked up. "Yes, ma'am?"

She barked at her. "Can't you find a way to make this stupid process faster?"

Aventurine flinched. "On it."

She had a whole list of names for her.

Lemur, strict, lemur... wait, she already thought of that.

She just looked like one with those ringed eyes.

After finding a way to make it rise an extra yard, she smiled at her leader, who didn't give her anything but a stern glare.

"I'm going to get those Gems corrupt... there's no way they'll craft a set of armor to take this place on, it's impossible... And besides, there were only four in existence, and they're too big for them..."

Aventurine stepped back, fear in her eyes. "What will you do with their gems once they've lost control over their corrupt forms?"

Yellow Diamond gave her a sharp smile. "We crush them. We crush their shards."

" _EVERY. LAST. ONE."_


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Influence

The sound of the Warp Pad's soft warbling was soon followed by stomping.

Yellow Diamond looked around, grabbed the nearest sleeping Gem, and rushed outside.

…

Selenite woke up, greeted by yellow eyes which gave her a cold, hard glare.

She got up quickly, summoning her bow.

Yellow Diamond smiled. "Hah... it won't work. It's not like I didn't come prepared." The moonlight shone on her armor, which clamped tight on her body.

Selenite dropped it. "What do you want?"

She replied. "I want you in my armies. Think about it. You'll see Homeworld for the first time; you'll be respected by thousands of Gems, warriors or not; and best of all, your own warship and living quarters."

Selenite snarled. "As if I'd join you."

Yellow Diamond frowned. "Very well."

Just then, her eyes had this glint in them but it disappeared just as fast.

Selenite seemed entranced. "Never mind then. I'll come." She shook her head, as if she was trying to snap out of it.

"What am I saying?!"

She picked her bow off the ground, aiming for the space where her breastplate connected to the arm piece.

Yellow Diamond laughed, the glint in her eyes again.

Selenite followed her onto the Warp Pad.

Her mind didn't want to do this; but her body had other plans, whether she liked it or not.

She was a puppet.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: Betrayal

Selenite looked outside at the metropolis before dropping onto the bed.

"What have I done..."

Iolite's face launched at her the moment she closed her eyes.

"I'm here," she heard.

She opened her eyes.

Iolite _was_ there.

She placed her hand in front of Selenite's mouth, producing muffled screams.

Selenite tried to slap her, eventually succeeding and shooting Iolite in the shoulder and the leg with a crystalline arrow.

She jumped out the window, creating platforms as she walked, looking back and yelling. "You'll pay for this..."

She clutched her shoulder, limping away.

…

The Gems busted down Selenite's door, weapons in hand.

It was a fairly large room, about the size of the Sky Arena where Pearl trained Connie.

Selenite was in the corner, slowly turning her head to face them.

There was something about her eyes that wasn't there before.

Her pupils.

The pupils were surrounded by a thin layer of yellow, which overlapped part of her white-blue irises.

She mumbled a bit, summoning her bow.

The walls disappeared, simulating the Sky Arena, as if the size of the room wasn't enough of a coincidence.

The statue of Yellow Diamond behind one of the pillars wavered, the real one in its place.

She laughed. "You've fallen into our trap."

Selenite started shooting arrows. "You rebels. Now I see why I have to fight you."

Malachite stepped forward. "You don't have to fight."

She snarled. "Hah. I'm not."

She turned, shooting multiple arrows into Yellow Diamond's bare chest.

She spoke, strained. "Here I thought... that I found a Gem... w-who was capable... but no,... you betrayed me, and now... now I know who I'll have to look for after I crush your gems..."

Selenite waved her hand and the arrows came out of her chest only to go back in.

"Savage, am I right?"

Yellow Diamond collapsed.

Selenite leaned over her face. "Don't even think about mesmerizing me again, because next time, it will be worse."

She left with the Gems, slamming the door.

Yellow Diamond grinned. "Hmph. As if those arrows hurt. Those felt like mere needles."

She removed one of the arrows, snapping the metal rod in half.

"Consider yourself lucky."


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: A Kiss

She made her way back to the Temple, leaving behind a trail of tears.

It felt like forever since Andesine had last seen the other Gems.

She tried to avoid Azurite, who was outside, his pants rolled up to his knees while he played in the water.

Unfortunately for her, he noticed Andesine, and he came sloshing from the sea.

Andesine turned to face him. "What?"

He slowed down to a walk. "What do you mean?"

She looked away.

He put his hand under her chin, softly raising her head to face him.

She made a strange squeaking sound, then covered her mouth. "Stupid panda, I keep squealing uncontrollably ever since I saw it..."

Azurite laughed. "Ha, that's the Andesine I know."

She looked up. "No. When has anyone taken the time out of their day to get to know me? There are more than ten of us. I'm just another face in the crowd."

"I don't need to know _everything_ about you to have feelings for you."

He kissed her on the lips, and Andesine's eyes – well, eye, seeing as her right eye was a gem – went wide with shock.

Their bodies glowed purple and wavered slightly as the two fused.

They opened their eyes and studied their hands.

A light lavender color, two arms, two legs, two eyes, one being Andesine's gem.

Inside the "control hub" – the place where Steven was when he confronted Jasper and Lapis when they were fused – the two Gems were bickering.

"You kissed me!"

"And you wanted to fuse with someone. I gave you what you wanted."

"That doesn't mean you can just mash your lips against my face!"

"How else was I supposed to fuse? It's not like I'm good at dancing, all I do are backflips and stuff!"

"YOU KISSED ME!"

"YOU LET ME!"

"YOU CAN'T EVEN – AGH!"

Smithsonite got up and started slapping themselves without the Gems realizing.

"YOU ALMOST SQUASHED MY HEAD!"

"IT'S NOT LIKE I'VE KISSED ANYONE BEFORE!"

"YOU CAN'T – YOU'RE NOT – YOUR ARGUMENT IS INVALID! HA!"

Azurite lowered his voice.

"Someone's spent too much time in the bathroom with Peridot."

And they kept going, and going, and going...


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen: What to Fear

The fusion walked around, examining every last detail, every grain of sand, every piece of shell.

Meanwhile, the two Gems inside were still arguing.

"IS IT _WRONG_ TO MAKE A NEW FRIEND OUT OF AN OLD ENEMY?"

"PERIDOT IS A THREAT, LIMB ENHANCERS OR NOT!"

"GIVE HER A SECOND CHANCE!"

Azurite stared into space.

Behind Andesine, Iolite entered the small confined ball.

Her eyes were blank, soulless, yet she smiled.

Like a doll's eyes.

Despite being a Gem, she appeared as though she didn't have an ounce of humanity left in what now seemed like an empty husk.

As she smiled, she spoke, the ghastly words hanging in the air, echoing.

"It would be almost too easy to crush your gems and make it look like you killed each other. Don't cross me. Don't try to look for me. Because mark my words."

"You will not survive a day if you do."

She turned, leaving the ball they were in, laughing in a manner that seemed more ghost-like than her way of speech.

Andesine turned to Azurite.

"I need space."

They unfused, falling out of the air and away from each other.

They walked in opposite directions, one to the Temple.

Azurite decided to go to his hideout.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: Secret Buddies

Azurite pressed his hand against the stone slab in the wall of the cliff to the side of the Temple.

Steven was outside with Peridot when he saw light coming from where Azurite was.

The slab had a hand-shaped indent in it.

As it scanned Azurite's hand, the wall near it faded away, revealing a natural cave.

The floor was real stone, large patches of grass here and there.

There were vines which extended down the entrance of the cave.

In the back, there was a huge waterfall, the sounds of crashing water soothing those who entered.

Steven and Peridot peeked inside, watching Azurite rummage through a mini fridge and sitting at the small table with ham.

He took a slice, bit out a hole, and made his face seem as if he was about to kiss someone, but instead he stuck his lips into the hole.

Azurite snickered.

Steven couldn't blame him. It was actually kind of fun doing that.

After he ate that slice, he took another, biting out three holes, two about the same size and one slightly more oval-shaped.

He stuck it to his face and started walking out of the cave like a zombie, arms stretched out in front of him.

Steven looked over to Peridot and mouthed.

"Hide!"

"Where?"

He pointed at a small crevice in the cliff big enough to fit both of them.

They scrambled inside.

Azurite sniffed the air.

"Steven, I know you're here. You know I can smell you, right?"

Steven held his breath, as if that would help.

They could faintly hear Azurite as he walked around – which is confusing, because since he's on sand, his walking sounds quieter, giving the illusion that he's far away.

He peeked into the hole.

Steven squealed, running out while Peridot followed far behind.

"Steven! Wait! I can't run as fast!"

He ran into Azurite's cave with her, activating a string that closed it.

Azurite slowed down.

"Steven, whatever you do, don't freak out. And don't touch that

bubble! It's highly dangerous!"

He looked at the dark-blue bubble.

Inside there was a huge white obelisk.

There was a black gemstone on one of the sides.

Steven considered popping the bubble.

He would have if Azurite didn't warn him.

"Don't do it. We'll all be shattered!"

Upon inspecting the cave, he found that there were light blue crystals everywhere.

How hadn't he noticed them?

In the pond that the waterfall created, there was a giant crystal, green and blue.

Something clicked in Steven's mind.

This was where Kyanite was separated into Malachite and Azurite.

After Azurite entered the cave, he sighed.

"Thanks for not popping the bubble."

Peridot seemed disturbed.

"I sense danger from that gem. We need to burn it or crush it."

Azurite nodded. "That's what I was going to do."

Whatever was in that bubble was best kept away from the world.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen: Hostile Gem

Under the cover of darkness, he put his hand on the slab, opening the cave entrance.

Being the other half of Kyanite, Malachite also had access to this cave, but it was Azurite's.

Malachite had his own on the other side.

He snatched a bubble.

The wrong bubble.

He popped it and threw the gem out onto the sand, watching it regenerate.

…

Jet rose, looking around.

He could smell his own kind.

Altaite.

Jet was infamous. He was the one that proposed the idea of cloning.

He was essentially the father of all the Larimar, Pearls, Altaite, and such.

But the only Altaite ever made was defective.

He was traitorous.

Nonetheless, his inventions worked.

Yellow Diamond made it official, that this would surely make her armies stronger.

All the Pearls, Larimar, and the one Altaite are here now because of Jet.

Altaite was actually a hybrid.

Part Jet.

 _Part Howlite._

Particularly, the Howlite from earlier.

The very same one that made him retreat.

Howlite, though, had her memory wiped after a small piece of her gem fell off when she was in combat.

Jet combined it with a piece of his own, and thus, Altaite was made.

Malachite left the cave, and upon seeing Jet, he almost fainted.

 _He released the wrong Gem._

He was supposed to release another Gem.

One that had no feelings, no thoughts.

Except this Gem had what everyone called the "Tracker skill."

Citrine.

She was once a sentient Gem.

Now... not so much.

Like Howlite, her memory had been wiped.

She used to serve Yellow Diamond alongside Aventurine.

Jet summoned his weapon, which appeared to seem like a cannon was stripped off a tank and had a velcro stuck to it that was used to put it on your arm.

He started shooting at Malachite.

He dodged, shooting his own beams from his sword.

Tiger's Eye looked out the window.

She saw a black figure and Malachite, apparently fighting each other.

With heavy eyelids, she summoned her claws, running outside on four legs.

She accidentally ran in front of one of Jet's shots while attempting to dash in and she fell onto Malachite.

Well, actually, she didn't fall onto him.

Her gem did.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: Refuge

One stab.

Down.

Bubbled.

All of it happened in a flash.

Onyx appeared behind Jet, using his lance.

He stuck the gem to another obelisk, this time more secure, and sent it away.

He took Tiger's Eye's gem.

"How could you have brought this upon yourself? I swear, this happens too often."

He felt the golden ring around it, then looked at Malachite, who was staring up at the sky.

A Gem Warship, and it arrived ten seconds after it was visible.

The two led the Gems into Malachite's cave.

It was pretty much the same, except there was only a mat stretched out in front of the waterfall.

There was a door there which led to his room in the Temple, which acted like Rose's room in the way that he could hide the cave entrance by summoning an object.

Steven was the first to go into the cave for obvious reasons.

Once the ship landed, thousands of Gem warriors poured out.

Pearls, Howlite, Serendibite...

The list could go on for a long time.

 _This is it_ , thought Malachite.

 _We could use this to go find the armor sets we need to destroy the Tower of Impurity._

He didn't care it the armor was too big or not.

He didn't care how many sets there were.

He was just determined to protect this planet with his friends by his side.

Turquoise put a hand on his shoulder.

"What are you thinking?"

He looked her in the eye.

"It might seem crazy, but we need to escape. We need to go to the Strawberry Fields."

She flinched. "We're going to go dig for the armor?"

Malachite nodded. "We need it to take on the Tower of Impurity. I know what's going to happen."

She looked at him.

"There are crystals in all of the towers we'll eventually take on. In the Spine, there was a crystal deep in the Cerebral Core. We ignored it. If you crushed that crystal, the corresponding Diamond would be weaker."

"What are you saying? Doesn't the Tower belong to Black Diamond?"

He nodded.

"Yes, but he's not around anymore. The other Diamonds aren't either. The only one left is Yellow Diamond, so surely the crystal takes on the color yellow because there's no one else to control it."

"Ah, so that's how it works. Let's go out there and get this over with, then."


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen: Escape

Tiger's Eye emerged from her gem.

She had what seemed like one of those bandages that you'd think fighters had on their fists, but hers was around the waist.

Her hair was the kind that was brown and then it faded blonde. It was mostly loose but the rest was braided.

She regenerated in Onyx's hand.

Seemed like he was carrying her.

They were nearing the Strawberry Fields.

Where their first battle as Stishovite took place.

There they found a mound of dirt among other mounds.

They dug under each one with no luck.

"Is the armor even here? Have we made a miscalculation?"

Malachite sighed.

"It's no use. There's no way we'll find it in-"

He looked at something.

It was the first staff they used when they were a fusion.

He dug under it and unearthed a four-armed chestplate. He stared at it in disbelief.

He turned to faced Onyx.

"This set would fit us."

He seemed confused. "How? Are we going to put two of us in one set?"

He laughed. "You'll see."

He touched the cold metal.

It started to glow, turning into a stone.

"Still works. That's nice." He picked up the blue stone, telling the other four to touch the other sets of armor.

Altaite touched one and it turned clear yet colorful.

The one that Tiger's Eye touched turned yellow.

"Why are they turning different colors?"

Onyx remembered. "Don't you recall? This was our armor. Before we formed Stishovite, we used to be other fusions. That's what those ball-shaped capsules around our belts are for; we slip in the stones and it's instant armor."

Come to think of it, yes, that was what happened.

After Kyanite unfused, Malachite stumbled upon Onyx, who would later become his battle partner and would often fuse.

After escaping the lab where Jet made Altaite, he met Turquoise, Malachite, and Onyx.

Once Tourmaline surfaced from the ground after her gem met a small leak of energy on Homeworld, she found Tiger's Eye, and the two eventually met the others.

The armor was made for them, but the fourth one was huge.

"Let's take that one. It's special. On my three, okay?"

The others nodded.

"One..."

They leaned over the hole.

"Two..."

They readied their hands.

"Three!"

They all touched it, watching it turn into a clear stone.

It rose from the hole, falling into Malachite's hand.

Stishovite's armor.

And there was yelling behind them.

"We have to go! Now!"

They made a run for it.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty: Cultists

She fell into a hole, jumping and pleading for help.

Peridot looked around and spotted bats with gemstones on their torsos. She crouched, hands over her head.

She could've sworn one of the bats smiled.

One of them, farther down the cave, glowed, revealing a tall, skinny Gem. He had a gray undershirt and a red jacket-like piece, the bottom half and sleeves ripped off.

The other bats glowed too, and in their place were the same Gem, but with a different appearance.

They were all Pyrope.

Despite being of the Garnet group, they were very different from the

Ruby/Sapphire fusions.

For one, they had a strongly developed bloodlust.

Cultists who worshipped Red Diamond, who was crushed thousands of years ago.

Pyrope grinned. "Welcome, trespasser. Have you come to let us have your blood, or to die?"

Steven dropped in, throwing his shield at him.

"Ow!" His eyes were replaced by red, blinding light.

"You? A human-Gem hybrid?! How is this possible?!"

A voice boomed throughout the cave.

"Keep your hands off him!"

A Gem dropped in, shaking the ground.

Peridot flinched. "Eep!" She scrambled into a small hole.

Steven backed up. "W-who are you?"

The Gem roared. "Olivine. Pretty sure you know us."

He looked at the gems.

Forehead, throat.

Malachite and Tiger's Eye?

Peridot peeked out of the hole. "Is that a weapon?"

Steven couldn't help but laugh. "No, it's a Gem like you. But I guess fusion is a weapon on Homeworld?"

Olivine summoned her weapon, which was a ring sword.

She threw it at a group of Pyrope, making them retreat, and since their gems hung in the air, the weapon made lacerations in them, enough to make them break when they fell.

Pyrope ran quickly, jumping off ledges onto other sections of the cave. He grabbed onto a stalactite and pushed off, using it as leverage to jump to another part.

Olivine threw two ring swords, both of them seeking him. She loaded an armor ball Malachite had made on her belt, covering her body in a magic, wavering barrier which emitted a soft light.

"When did you have time to make an armor ball?"

He smiled at her. "I have an armor ball for all of our fusions except for the ones we found last night. Those are higher-quality, the ones I made just reduce damage."

Pyrope got cut in half mid-jump.

His gem fell onto a stalagmite, breaking on impact with the spike.

And they got into this mess because of those stupid Homeworld warriors.


	22. Special Event II: Tower of Impurity

Special Event II

Tower of Impurity

Malachite woke up.

The Gems had buried themselves in dirt to sleep so they wouldn't be out in the open.

He got up, breaking up the small mound of dirt and grass.

He hadn't noticed it last night, but the Tower of Impurity was visible from this distance.

The other mounds had been broken through, signifying that the others were awake. They were probably in the Strawberry Field a bit away, gathering berries to eat.

He snuck up on Onyx, who had his guard down.

Because he was so oblivious and focused on picking the right berries, they accidentally fused.

"Malachite!"

"What?" He rubbed his neck. This was uncalled for; he didn't even mean for this to happen.

They spied on the other four Gems, who were so mischievous they decided to fuse ahead of time.

The gray-blue Gem peeked over a bush, which was hard because he'd have to either squat or crawl, seeing how tall they were.

Altaite and Turquoise were the ones they were watching.

Altaite did a handstand, flipping to where Turquoise was spinning and jumping, freezing the ground with every step.

They stopped within a couple of feet of each other.

Turquoise jumped, spinning down onto Altaite's hands, their bodies glowing white with a hint of blue.

Angel Quartz stretched. "It's been so long, but I'm glad to be me. It's been, how long... four thousand two-hundred sixty-four years, I think."

She looked over the bush. "'Ey! What're you looking at? Scram!"

Corundum crawled away like a cat.

He'd found Tiger's Eye and Tourmaline in the middle of the dance.

Tiger's Eye had her gloves, cutting into the air with each bound.

Tourmaline was doing a pirouette with her arms stretched to the side.

She stopped and pushed off the ground with Tiger's Eye, fusing when they met in mid-air.

The three fusions met at camp with the others.

Scapolite looked at the other two. "Shall we go? I'm just itching to feed Yellow Diamond her own organs. I'll throw the leftovers to the wolves; wait, she's bitter. They probably won't like it."

They all shared a laugh and headed to the Tower.

…

She got into the Bubble Chamber and took the one with the most Gems in it.

Yellow Diamond smiled and popped it.

"Welcome to the world, my pet." She grinned.

"Together, Cluster, we will rule this planet and all of its inhabitants! But first, we must defeat its protectors."

…

They rushed in, quickly swarmed by Howlite, Serendibite, and Pearls.

Corundum stabbed his crystallized longsword into the Pearls, sometimes crushing their gems.

Angel Quartz launched a blade-like bullet at the Howlite, going through them every time. It was probably one of the most efficient weapons to take out multiple targets in a line.

Scapolite wore gloves where the claws were literally the blades of a scythe.

After cutting through floods of Gems, they went up a few floors before finally running into armored Gems worthy of a beating.

The three fusions slipped the stones into their belts, instantly covered in a barrier with what seemed like runic symbols floating around their bodies.

Black patterns on their skin, which was a sign of corruption, disappeared in an instant.

…

She arrived, snarling.

Yellow Diamond was here.

She looked up and heard distorted screeches.

Yellow Diamond looked down and saw her.

She smiled, literally petrifying her.

Howlite was doomed.

Shattered.

…

So close, yet so far.

They were almost to the top, but now, even more warriors appeared.

But these were corrupt; they've been here too long.

The Pearls, which looked like a cross between an elegant swan and a fierce eagle, swooped down on Corundum, their beaks sharp.

The Serendibite, as cute as they were with their chubby flailing arms, had to go first.

The Howlite were like giant wolf hybrids; they looked like chimera, with their snake tails nipping at the air ahead.

One of them had the nerve to roar in Scapolite's face, covering her in slobber.

That was the biggest mistake of their life.

She'd had the Howlite dead before she could even whimper.

…

Yellow Diamond bounced Howlite's gem in her hand, throwing it against the floor and crushing it with her foot.

When other warriors saw her trying to kill an innocent Gem, they protested.

And they had gone, too.

The Cluster sat in the spiral-like pattern of charred ground, swords, spears, and more left over from the deceased Gems.

…

The revolting thing pulsed, sending a wave throughout the room.

They had made it to the top.

In front of them was a heart made of crystal.

Corundum made his longsword levitate, sending it at the heart.

Not even a scratch.

Angel Quartz shot at it, making a small hole at the edge.

Inside, the yellow crystal was visible. It was beautiful, despite it being a horrible thing.

Scapolite jumped to the top of the heart, where what humans called the "superior vena cava" was.

She aimed her glove into it and shot off one of the claws, making a large dent in both the crystal and the heart.

Corundum closed his eyes and a chunk of the heart came off.

Psychic power gained from Malachite and Onyx's abilities.

Angel Quartz leaped to where Corundum removed a chunk, shooting at the crystal inside.

…

Yellow Diamond clutched her chest.

The clods were destroying the Crystal Heart.

Her whole body felt as though she was being thrown into every brick wall in sight.

If this was working, then they should have Yellow Diamond down for at least a week.

…

The crystal was rimmed with black.

"Gems! Go!"

They all gathered, summoning Stishovite's weapon.

They bashed the staff into the crystal, sending shards of it everywhere.

Outside, green sparks came off the marble tower.

The corrupt Gems inside the tower returned to their regular state, and when the six heroes returned to the base, they expected to be mauled by them.

That wasn't the case.

One of each Gem stepped forward.

"You have our thanks."

"How can we ever repay you?"

"We are in your debt."

The warriors gave Malachite a stone.

A Pearl put it in his hands.

"Crush it when you need us. We will come ready for battle."

He knew just when to use this, and that time was coming.

Off to the Diamond Empire.


	23. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One: Miscalculation

He tried to wipe it away.

It didn't work.

Ever since Malachite and the others returned, he'd had these black patterns on his skin.

He could only suspect the worst;

Corruption.

He limped outside, feeling drained.

Turquoise was there, yet he paid little attention to her.

Malachite submerged himself in water, giving it a soft pink glow, but nothing fixed it.

He felt his face, finding two whisker-like filaments.

Turquoise looked at him, tilting her head.

"What's wrooo-oh... Yeah, we need to help you."

His body started to stretch a bit, causing him to yelp.

His dark green stripes warped a bit as his skin turned to scales.

The others rushed out, but it was too late.

Standing in his place was what seemed like a real Chinese dragon.

"Is it bad?"

Tourmaline put a mirror in front of him.

He groaned.

"I need help."

Suddenly, his eyes turned white. He roared, soaring away.

"That happened."

Altaite winced. "Think we should go find him?"

Onyx dropped himself on the sand. "He'll be fine."

Azurite decided to go outside.

"Hey guys, what're we staring at?" He looked up, spotting a strange figure.

"WE NEED TO GO, NOW!"

He went into his small cave, returning with a pouch in his hand.

Inside was a golden apple, which glittered in the sun.

"Our mentor gave us this pouch. Reach in, pull out an apple. Infinite supply, specially made for us. Heals and prevents corruption for up to a thousand years."

He threw it into the open air in front of Malachite, who did a U-turn and was now returning.

He gulped it down, returning to his regular form and falling about three thousand five hundred feet, which wasn't actually _that_ high to him.

He groaned, then said his thanks, then collapsed.

He'd need rest before fighting Yellow Diamond.


	24. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty Two: Holograms

She sat back in her chair, smiling at her screen.

The holograms were in place, fully-functional, and had the proper AI.

Aventurine checked the other three – well, two – and sighed when the test ran through, a "READY" sign on the log.

She heard the door slide behind her.

"I suspect you've ran tests, checked their intelligence, and made sure they can summon their weapons..?"

Aventurine smiled at her. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good." With that, Yellow Diamond left the room, a satisfied look on her face.

…

She looked at her hands and spoke in a robotic voice.

"I am back. But what is this? I do not feel... real."

She summoned her weapon. "I do not recall any memories aside from the fact that I was defeated. ...Why? Why am I here?"

She swung it around, smashing into the wall.

"Oops," she said, as if her words were empty and meant nothing.

Of course, she'd have to practice before fighting these clods.

For a second time, that is.

And this time, she wouldn't fail.

She WILL crush them, all of them.


	25. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three: Blinding Light

The group dashed into the room, surprised to find a strange figure.

It was a hologram.

More specifically, a hologram of White Diamond.

She seemed more formal.

"Welcome back to the Ivory Chamber... I will not take this lightly. Prepare yourselves!"

She swung her bludgeon, immediately targeting Tiger's Eye.

"You won't make it out easily. You may have won, but the battle is far from over!"

She threw her weapon across the room, making a large dent in the wall above, causing rock to collapse.

Tiger's Eye dodged each one, cutting the ones that landed in front of her.

Orthoclase and Selenite decided to shoot at White Diamond, landing some arrows in her shoulder, but they went through her.

They should've seen it coming.

She jumped at them, but they dodged.

Turquoise was behind them.

She raised a pillar of ice under herself and White Diamond, stabbing at her and ducking when she tried flailing at her.

She ducked and kicked White Diamond in the shins.

The hologram fell off the pillar, making a violent crushing sound when she landed.

So arrows wouldn't do anything, but height would? They'd have to remember that.

Turquoise tried touching the gem, but it fizzled away in white sparks.

Well, that was a surprise.

What else did Yellow Diamond have up her sleeves?


	26. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four: Lost Darkness

They hurried with the ruined mazes and traps, walking into a pitch black room.

A dull light emanated from a corner.

Black Diamond sat there, like a crying child.

The lights flickered and he stood, turning, dagger in hand.

He dashed forward, his dagger clashing with Malachite's sword, sparks flying off the scraping metal.

"I will make you pay for what you've done to me. I will make you wish you never interfered with Yellow Diamond!"

He removed his dagger from the clash, ducking the swipe that would come afterwards, and stabbing Malachite in the knee.

Malachite drew back, running behind his back and throwing his sword into it.

He howled in pain, removing it.

Onyx used his lance as leverage, jumping above Black Diamond's head and stabbing it through the hologram, pixels distorted where it landed.

Tourmaline used her scythe's blade like a hook, bringing him to her.

She slashed at him until his gem fell to the ground, touching it and watching it fizzle away.

Does this mean that they have to face Pink and Blue Diamond?

Probably not.


	27. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty Five: At Last

She turned in her chair and saw the clods staring at her.

"Oh hi. I suspect you're ready to be shattered?" She summoned a bomb, bouncing it in her fingers.

Peridot might have had powerful limb enhancers, but these things?

They were much worse.

She threw it at Malachite, who didn't really manage to escape.

The dust cleared and his body seemed badly injured.

"I... will not... give up..." He stood, using his sword as support.

He slashed at Aventurine.

"Oh, come on. You're much better than this."

She smirked. "Come, join us. No more games, no more fighting. We'll make it all better. You just have to crush all your friends here, and we'll treat you like a king."

He glanced behind his back and into the Gems' worried eyes.

He closed his and got up.

Aventurine smiled. "Welcome."

She started spinning, her fingers around her, forming a strange pattern and dashing toward him.

Malachite grabbed and lifted her before falling and turning to light.

The fusion was massive, taking up little less than half of the room.

The others stood by, shaking.

Turquoise cried a bit. "How could you... why would you do this?!"

Tsavorite smiled, summoning a spiked grenade.

"I planned this since the beginning. I never trusted or liked any of you. And now that my plan is in action, I see that I have no use for you."

They threw the grenade, making a hole in the floor.

The Aventurine in Tsavorite cackled. "Yes! Fear my rage!"

The four-armed Gem took four grenades, launching them and summoning more.

Aventurine laughed again. "See! He never had feelings for _you_ , or liked _you_ , or cared about _you_!"

The Malachite side laughed. "Think again, bud."

Tsavorite swallowed a grenade, blasting apart.

Bits of Aventurine fell everywhere, her tear-shaped gem clinking against the ground.

It seemed like she was the one that took all of the damage, but Malachite's gem was cracked badly.

He tried to heal some of it, and it worked, but there were still deep cuts in it.

Altaite dashed. "I got it!" He put it in a gray bubble.

Rose jumped toward Malachite, landing elegantly.

She took a vial of water from his pouch, which he set aside.

She gave it to him.

Malachite opened it, watching it turn light pink, and then he rubbed it on his gem.

Turquoise had her arms folded and her back to him.

He walked to her. "I'm sorry. It was just a way to get her to think I was on their side; none of it was true."

She turned her head, wiping away a tear.

They hugged and then, it felt like they could do anything together.

They wouldn't be wrong.


	28. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty Six: The Golden

The three fusions dashed into the room, confronted by the four-armed Blue Diamond hologram, who had dipped Pink Diamond.

They glowed, forming Orichalcum.

Coesite quivered in fear, bringing himself together after a few seconds.

Calcite grinned. "You haven't changed at all, Orichalcum."

He summoned his scimitar, dashing forward and colliding with the massive body.

Orichalcum picked him up by his collar like a mother to her puppy.

"Hmph." They threw the fusion into a wall, making a dent.

Rose Zircon punched their legs.

"Ow!" Orichalcum stood on two legs.

"You're being very naughty."

Coesite ran in, his blades sinking into Orichalcum's legs.

They jumped back.

"Heh, you can throw fusions aside yet you can't endure being stabbed."

Orichalcum grinned as if they were going to win – for once...

Rose Zircon launched a lance into Orichalcum's face.

The fusion clutched its face, falling back.

Armor fell off from the impact.

They all slipped the armor devices into their belts before being coated in a translucent barrier.

Somehow a bit of the magic used slipped out, illuminating the room.

This apparently hurt Orichalcum, how was now trying to limp away.

That might do the trick.

If they couldn't push them off a pillar of ice, they'd torture them.

Coesite spun around, the light shining off him like a disco ball.

Orichalcum held their eyes shut. "Make it stoo-op!" They whined a bit.

Calcite jumped onto Orichalcum's apparently solid back.

If it was solid, would this hurt?

He got in a stance, jabbing the scimitar downwards into the back.

Orichalcum roared, grabbing Calcite and throwing him to the ground.

Rose Zircon jumped around, distracting them.

The hologram exploded into light.

The fusions were confused.

What had just happened?

And now there were two spiral stairways, intertwining like ribbons, glittering in the light.

In the center of the room, there was a strange symbol.

After unfusing, the group stood on it, being elevated to the next floor.

Yellow Diamond was next.

The final battle.


	29. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty Seven: Rest in Bubbles

It was Chalcedony versus the Hand Cluster.

The Temple Gem was formed for two reasons;

One, because it's been a while; and two, it was necessary anyways.

She summoned her spiked mace, going ham on the forced fusion.

Speaking of ham, Azurite went from the back, cutting off the green-gray cloth.

The limbs fell out and scattered on the floor, just flopping around.

The others took those out, bubbling them.

…

The elevator-platform thing finished reaching the top.

Funny how Yellow Diamond ordered the Handd Cluster to just... _fall_ on them.

She turned.

"Welcome to the Sunlight Chamber."

Malachite snorted. "Sunlight? Sunlight is good, you're horrible."

Yellow Diamond clenched her jaw, her teeth grinding against each other.

"I fight for the people of Homeworld. I want to provide them with a safe environment, but with rebels around, that won't happen!"

She glared at all of them. "It ends now."

The room had the color sucked out of it, and falling rocks from the collapsed roof froze.

Yellow Diamond's gem started glowing, shooting lasers at them.

One got Selenite on the ankle, but it wasn't even that hot. It didn't even penetrate skin.

So, if she was this weak, there must be a catch.

She thought these warriors were weak, so she'd take it easy.

That wasn't the case, though, as Malachite and Onyx deflected the lasers using their weapons.

As one hit Yellow Diamond's eye, she growled, summoning a long sword.

She spun, shooting lasers and swords at the same time.

Malachite took the stone he'd received from the Pearl, smashing it in the palm of his hand.

Stomping could be heard, and soon, Gem Warships landed on the roof, Gem warriors flooding out of it.

Downstairs, yelling reverberated across the walls.

Pearls, Howlite, and Serendibite dashed to the elevator, weapons in-hand.

The Howlite started throwing pikes at her.

Malachite and the others let the chaos consume them.

After a moment of destruction and yelling, a tall figure rose from the crowd, wielding a staff and glove.

To him, the Gems were like ants.

Stishovite knocked Yellow Diamond out of the air, the electricity from his staff sending her flying as her hair became frizzy.

Yellow Diamond growled.

"Why must this always happen!"

Chalcedony's mace slammed into her with one hand, while two other hands squeezed her with gauntlets.

Peridot sent robonoids after her, spitting at her limbs, which were now dissolving.

Andesine and Azurite had fused too, so now the derp-faced Smithsonite was pounding at her too.

Selenite sent shards of white crystal flying into her.

A small gem clinked onto the floor.

The room went silent.

The silence was followed by victory cries.

Stishovite bubbled the yellow gem.

The three fusions unfused.

And that was that.

There was no one left to fight; they had won.

This was the end.

But was it really?

Far.

The fight was far from over.


	30. Chapter 28

Final Chapter: Forgotten

Altaite blew a hole in the wall with his cannon, checking outside for any enemy ships.

He gestured for the Gems to jump off into the water below, which glowed in the very dim sunlight.

Turquoise jumped off, Tiger's Eye behind her, covering her eyes, afraid of heights.

Malachite and Onyx were next, both of them spreading out in a skydiving "X," enjoying how the air felt against them.

Altaite put away his cannon, making his way to the edge.

The roof was collapsing from the impact of his cannon.

It came down fast, one of the rocks falling onto Tourmaline's dress.

Altaite couldn't blast it; he'd hurt her. And she couldn't crush it, either; her scythe took a while to cut through rock.

She looked up at him, tears gathering in her eyes.

"You have to go. Please, just go..."

He seemed shocked. "What?! Are you crazy?! I'm not leaving you here!"

Tourmaline looked down. "Go. Live your life. I'll be waiting for you."

Altaite shook his head, trying to keep tears away.

He looked up at her.

"It's what I want for you."

He nodded and stepped onto the edge, looking back.

"Oh, and... don't look down."

Altaite laughed, jumping out.

From the sea below, he watched the tower collapse, closing his eyes.

…

The Gems celebrated all day.

But then, there was still a loss.

When the tower was collapsing, you could hear a faint sound, followed by a small cloud that drifted skyward.

That was Tourmaline.

Altaite stayed in his room during the party.

The light in his room was dim, and there were many mountains surrounding the center, where he lay.

He conjured a small house in the middle.

Currently, he was inside, in the bed, facing away from the window.

He heard a knock on his door.

He opened it and found Onyx on the other side, who had an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry about Tourmaline."

"It was my fault."

"No. No, it wasn't. The only reason Tourmaline got trapped was because you shot a hole in the- Oh. But... We wouldn't have gone to the Spire if Yellow Diamond hadn't existed, right? That was why we went."

Altaite looked up a bit.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Onyx removed his hood and saw that Altaite had tears streaming down his face.

"I've never seen you cry before."

Altaite hugged him. "Thanks for being there. We aren't just friends; you're like a brother to me. That'll never change. Thank you."

Onyx seemed shocked. Not only had Altaite never cried before, but he'd never hugged anyone.

But this was serious.

Tourmaline was actually gone.

And he couldn't change that.

Not for a while, anyways.

…

Malachite leaned on the wooden rail outside of Steven's house.

Onyx came out, looking down at his feet.

Malachite spoke up. "What's wrong?"

"It's Altaite. He's really heartbroken.."

Malachite seemed shocked. "Oh."

He watched Turquoise and Steven play in the water.

Steven took a bit of seaweed and, using his power, started to make it look like a green paper cut-out of a person.

Peridot put a toe in the water, yelping and leaping back. "Is this a weapon?!"

Turquoise giggled, turning a bit of water into a sword made of ice.

She held it up, laughing when Peridot covered her eyes.

She gave it to her, watching her swing it around. "Fear me, for I am Yellow Diamond!"

Turns out that this would be a kind of inside joke between the two Gems.

Everyone was happy, that's true.

But that would soon change when they realized they'd forgotten another enemy yet again.

Iolite was out there.


End file.
